Angels and Miracles
by PheonixFireBlack
Summary: Simple things happen in the summer, but, serious tragic things can happen too. Someone gets in an accident, and everyone is seriously starting to wonder if the person will be ok. It doesn't look like this is going to be good for anyone...especially a cert


Title - Angels and Miracles

By - PheonixFireBlack 

Summary - Simple little things can happen in the summer, but then again, serious tragic things can happen as well. Someone gets in an accident, winds up hurt and everyone is seriously starting to wonder if the person will be ok in the end. It doesn't look like this is going to be good for anyone that this person knows...Especially a certain black-haired RFR DJ we all know and love

****

I don't usually quote things for my stories/chapters of fics but I really should with this story, it's kind of appropriate. 

"This is something I wondered about after hearing

a story of a man who got sudden amnesia on the day of his 

marriage, and didn't regain any memories of the woman he loved 

until nearly a year later. What was extremely amazing was that his newly-wedded 

wife stayed by his side throughout that whole year,

in spite of the fact that she was now a stranger to him and

nobody knew when or if he'd ever regain his memories. And during

the course of that year, they both even managed to fall in love all over again,

despite the fact that they were like strangers to each other."

-Francefong ~ www.roninlounge.com

****

Disclaimer - Really guys, if you still think I own the show, you are _extremely_ delusional. Oh, and for the record, I don't own Explorer's either. They belong to the Ford company, which I am NOT part of. Thank-you-very-much.

A/N - Now, first things first: please, _please_, _ PLEASE_ **do NOT try and connect this fic to the second installment of my series: The Final Year, The Final Show. It does take place in the same time line but they are in no way connected and no original characters will be in this (i.e. Riley Diane). **

Yep, that's right, this fic is purely the original gang. I have to admit, this is only supposed to be once chapter but I have the feeling it probably won't end up that way. This will end up being WAY more than simply two genre's...There'll be general, hopeful humor, a bit of angst but all in all, I'm hoping for a happy ending. 

I'm really sorry to those who are in love with the two but, Travis and Robbie are probably not gonna play much role in this...this is really supposed to be more Ray and Lily centric. They will be in here...somewhere but it will be after the accident and whatnot. Trust me, I would LOVE for them to be in it but I just don't have anywhere for them to be...they'd just sort of be in the way if they were there. 

Anyway, this is one seriously long ass author's note. It's really starting to rival the A/N--Guest A/N bit that Jess & I had in chapter 8 of TFY, TFS. I'll stop and write the story so you can read now....good...there we go!

****

PLEASE **DO NOT JUST SKIM THROUGH THIS. READ THIS WHEN YOU HAVE TIME! I WANT YOU GUYS TO HAVE THE FULL EXPERIENCE OF THIS FIC!**

~Love ya!

~*~*~*~

The summer had all started out innocently enough: School ending, sun shining, grass in serious need of mowing, everything was perfectly normal as far as summer-time went. Everyone was in tanks tops, shorts and flip flops, just normal summer attire. The whole of the Roscoe community was inside their cool air-conditioned houses. Currently, seventeen year old Ray Brennon was laying on his back upstairs on the bed, staring at the ceiling. He was starting to think this summer wasn't going to as great as he thought it was going to be. School had let out a week ago, and here he was, doing absolutely nothing now. This was kind of sad. It was like God's way of telling him he really had no life outside of school and RFR since they only did a few rouge broadcasts in the summer. He took the pillow from behind his head and started tossing it up and catching it. The next thing he knew, someone was coming into his room. He looked up, seeing it was his mom, he flopped backwards again. 

"Ray, honey, why don't you go do something instead of laying around here all day?" She asked, bustling around the room, cleaning up a bit. 

Ray sat up, leaning on his arms, "Mom, do you _have_ to clean my room? When you do that, I don't know where anything is!"

The woman turned to her son, "Ray...I don't know if you realize this or not, but you can't see the floor of your room, honey. That's when you know you need to clean the thing you choose to call a room."

Ray smiled. He never argued with his mom, he saved all his arguing energy for his dad. He loved her more than anything and didn't know what he would do without her. She was always there no matter what. His dad was there for him too but his mom was always there, no matter what. Ray sighed and fell back into the bed again.

"Ray, honey," She started, walking over towards his bed and sat down next to him.

"Yeah, mom?"

"Honey, what's wrong?"

"Nothing...just bored." He paused, "I'm starting to think that this is God's way of showing me that I have no life out of school, seeing it's already a week into summer and I have yet to do _anything_ at all."

"Call one of your friends and go do something." She said as she stood to leave her son's room. When she reached the door, she turned back around, "If worse comes to worse, you could always just call Lily. You know she's going to be here all summer." She smiled and winked at him, closing the door behind her.

Ray rolled his eyes. He loved his mom and all but it was truly annoying how she always teased him about liking Lily. She was right though, it would be hard to set anything to do with Travis or Robbie, both of them going with their families on vacation and all--Both this coming Friday. Ray looked at the phone and shrugged, leaning over and picking it up. He dialed the number that he'd learned by heart over the years and held the phone to his ear, waiting for someone to pick up. He really hoped that Mr. or Mrs. Randall picked up.

"Hello?" A girl's voice came over the phone.

"Lily..." Ray's voice was slightly strained, he'd really expected one of her parents to answer. 

"Ray?" Lily asked. She wasn't so sure that's who it was. It sounded like him but then again, at the same time, it didn't sound like him.

"Uah..yeah..." Ray blinked and brought himself back to reality. 

"Hey." The blonde girl sounded really happy. "What's up?"

"Nothing...a bit bored out of my mind but...hey, that's ok...its summer, no Waller...or Carlisle."

Lily laughed, "Yeah. That's for sure. No...anyone really, especially not after this Friday goes by. We'll be alone, ya know? Travis and Robbie going off on vacay and all."

"Yeah, I know...it's gonna be pretty boring for the next month or so, huh?"

"Yeah...it will be odd. Do you think we'll do any duo-only broadcasts over the month?"

Ray shrugged, "I don't know. I don't really want to think about later though. I was kind of thinking, maybe we could...do something today."

"Like what?"

"I dunno....I just really need to do something or I'm gonna go nuts."

"You already are but alright. Meet me at the park, we'll go from there."

"Alright. Mind you, I 'll be walking because dad took the car."

"Alright...I'll wait a few before I head out then."

Both teenagers hung up. 

~*~

Within ten minutes, Ray was at the park, only waiting about two minutes for Lily to arrive after he did. She got out of the dark green Explorer™ and walked over to sit on the bench next to Ray. "Hey."

"Lily...hey." 

Lily frowned. Ray seemed...what was the right word? Unnerved? Or maybe the right word was uneasy. Either way, he really wasn't being Ray. "What's up?"

"I-Nothing."

"Right, so...do you have anything particular you wanna do?"

"Not really, I just wanted to get out of the house...I was _seriously_ bored."

Lily tilted her head to the side as she looked up at the sky at the clouds. After a few moments she pointed to one and said, "Elephant."

Ray frowned then realized the was looking at clouds. He couldn't see the one she was pointing at so he leaned over, his head practically on her shoulder, looking where she was pointing. "That one? No, that's not an elephant."

"Then what is it?"

"Anyone can see that is a cat and a dog on the back of a cow!"

"Cat...dog...cow...What? I don't see a cat, a dog, _or_ a cow..." She shook her head as she looked straight ahead again and lowered her arm. "You have yet to cease to amaze me, Ray."

"What?" Ray asked, quickly moving, realizing how close he had been to her. "It was a cat, dog, and a cow!"

A little boy walked by and Ray stopped him, "Kid, what does that cloud look like?"

The boy stood up and the bench and looked at the cloud for a moment. He looked at Lily, then to Ray and climbed down to stand in front of the two teenagers. He was only about four years old but he looked at Ray very seriously and said, "It looks like a cloud."

"No! It looks like a cat and a dog sitting on a cow!"

The four year old rolled his eyes and walked away.

Lily laughed at her friends antics. "Alright, so...the other two are leaving tomorrow, what are _we_ gonna do?"

"I have no clue...I kinda thought that's why we're here...to figure it out an' all."

"Hmm...oohh...know of any concerts going on?"

"In Roscoe...Lily, come on!"

Lily rolled her eyes and lightly bashed him in the back of the head, "No...I mean..._around_...ya know."

Ray absentmindedly rubbed the back of his head where the blonde had hit him, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. Uh...no concerts I'd wanna go see last I knew."

"And when was the last you knew?"

"About three months ago."

"Oh, because concerts that were going on three months ago give us choices, right?" Lily asked sarcastically. "Why don't we go to the library and get online and find out?" She suggested, nodding in the direction of the library.

Ray shrugged, "I guess...but," He paused and grinned, "You have to be quiet in the library!" He whined as they both stood.

Lily laughed, "Ray...I think you can manage being quiet for ten minutes."

"When have you _ever_ known me to be quiet for ten minutes?"

"When your sleeping? But that's way longer than ten minutes, Mister I-sleep-till-nine-every-morning." She said as she climbed into the driver's side of the Explorer. 

The library really wasn't that far, walking distance from where they'd been but...Lily knew Ray wouldn't drive the Explorer and liked taking the driving advantages. When they entered the library they headed straight to the one and only computer that went online; the rest were connected solely to the library database. They stayed at the library for about an hour. As they went out, Ray was complaining to Lily, "You said I could manage shutting up for ten minutes. I managed that but you were killing me, there Lils! That was a whole _hour_ of not really talking!"

"At least we found a concert still selling tickets and relatively close by." 

"Yeah...who was it again?"

Lily rolled her eyes, "It was Trapt. They were the only good band that was playing near by. All the other close concerts...the names either scared me away or I just didn't like the band."

"Yeah, seeing as how you were the one looking since I wasn't really paying attention." _I was too busy watching you..._ He thought as he got into the passenger side of the car. 

"So...now what?"

"Well I would assume if we plan on going to this concert this weekend that we buy the tickets."

"I'll take care of it."

"You're not buying my ticket."

"I'm taking you home, you're going to give me the money for your ticket, I've got money at home for mine and I'll take care of it, alright?"

Ray nodded, "Ok. Homeward bound then!" He shouted, pointing forward.

"Uh..Ray...your house is that way..." She said, pointing behind them.

"Right...I knew that..."

~*~

It was finally Saturday. The day of the concert. Not that either of them really knew more than three songs by the band but that had nothing to do with it being something to do while their other friends gone and whatnot. The pair of teenagers had seen Travis and Robbie off the day before but were now currently headed to Ontario. Lily was driving and Ray...well Ray was asleep. They had gotten up about six o'clock for the five and a half hour drive to Ontario. Lily sighed. It was really odd, Ray being so quiet but then again, he _was_ asleep. Nevertheless, it was really odd. She could have sworn his mom had told her he talked in his sleep. Lily hadn't heard a peep from him...until now that is, even though it was just a mumbled, "No..."

Lily frowned, casting her friend a glance. He didn't look too happy. _Wonder what he's dreaming about? ...Oh well_

"No, you have to let me see her." He muttered. "No, you don't understand...I have to see her, she's my best friend! I have to know how she's doing!" There was a pause, "No! I don't want to know from you! I want to see it with my own eyes!"

Lily was starting to get freaked out by him so she pulled over to the side of the road. "Ray?"

His eyes shot open as if on cue and Lily jumped. She hadn't expected him to respond so soon. "Ray, are you ok?"

"What?"

"You were all...talking in your sleep and stuff."

"I'm...fine. Do that all the time."

Lily shook her head slowly; "I don't think you say that kind of stuff in your sleep all the time."

"What was I sayin'?" He asked, stifling a yawn.

"Something about wanting to see her...she's your best friend and you wanted to know how she was doing. You didn't wanna know from whoever you were talking to, you wanted to see her for yourself...I dunno...it was weird. What were you dreaming about?"

Ray thought about it for a moment, "I...I don't know..." He really had no clue what it was. After Lily had said what she had, he kind of remembered saying what he had but he didn't know who he was talking to or why he said what he did. He didn't remember any of the dream. "I don't know...but, it doesn't matter, right? It was just dream."

Lily looked him in the eyes for a few seconds before shrugging, nodding, and turning back to get on the road again.

~*~

The rest of the day had been great. They had arrived at the concert and watched the band. They'd liked the concert so much they even bought souvenirs. Lily got a t-shirt, which she had run and changed into, and Ray had a hat that he really looked weird wearing but he did so anyway. As they ever-so-slowly made their way back to the car, Lily looked up at Ray, for he was a few inches taller than she. "You look really stupid with that hat on."

"Thank you, I try."

After almost another hour of moving extremely slow, Ray and Lily finally made it to the parking lot. It was another twenty-two minutes before they could get out of the lot. They finally got out of the lot and on the road again, happy to be there. During the five hour drive back to Roscoe, they listened to whatever came on the radio. Well, actually when a stupid or boring song would come on, Ray would change it and they would listen to that. This went on for an hour and ten minutes then Ray had decided to just use his CD player hookups and listen to some CDs. This went one for about an hour. This making them have about ten minutes shy of being three hours left until they got home, and that was if they didn't stop anywhere for something. The ride had gone just fine and smooth until now. It had started raining really hard out of the blue. It was coming down so hard it was almost impossible to see, but not to the point of needing to pull over to wait. 

It was always a factor that there was a drunk out on the road, or some moron was just out and driving like a maniac. Neither of the two teenagers had ever been in any kind of car accident. No, they had both been very lucky so far. Not even so much as a fender bender for either of them. Tonight would change all of that. In fact, you might even venture to say that it may even change their lives. 

A car that no one had seen came flying down the road. It was raining too hard. No one saw him. He didn't see the car coming towards him. She didn't see him coming towards her. He was in a tall truck. She was in a small Neon. Soon enough everyone would find out he had been driving drunk but that didn't matter right now. All that mattered was the he was going towards her too fast and she was moving at a safe speed and no one knew what hit them. The boy that was in the car with the girl driver was saying, "So, Lils, what do you suppose we should do for the rest--" He was cut short from something. Something happened to the car. Something wasn't right. The car shouldn't have done that. No car did that on its own. Someone must have hit them. The drunk had bad perception as it was without being drunk, being so wasted only made it millions of times worse. He'd tried to break in time but it wasn't soon enough. The big truck and the small car collided on the bridge. The truck was barely damaged, the car on the other hand was damaged to almost the point of no return. It had been hit front and back, and it had flipped around, making the driver's side of the car slam into the side of the bridge. Everything happened so fast that hardly anyone had seen it coming. There was screaming, tires screetching, and shouting then dead silence. 

Ray winced as he unbuckled the seatbelt. He looked over at Lily. As the sight, his eyes widened then closed and he slowly reached for his cell phone. He opened his eyes and dialed the three numbers that were needed. He told the operator where they were and what had happened. She said and ambulance would be there relatively soon. Evidentially the hospital was really close to where they had crashed. Ray wasn't sure if he wanted to but he looked back over at Lily. She had taken the majority of the impact since the car had spun around like it did. Ray would give anything to go back in time and make himself take the impact. He couldn't really believe what he was seeing. The beautiful girl that had been only moments ago driving home, was more towards him than she was supposed to because of the car being shoved in, and she was knocked out because she'd hit her head. He shook his head. This just wasn't fair. He should have been the one over there, knocked out. Lily should have let him drive like he'd asked her before they'd gotten to the parking lot after the concert. 

Within a few minutes, a pair of ambulances arrived and got the two teenagers out of the car. One of the paramedics was talking to Ray. "How did this happen?"

"We...We were going home after a concert and...it was raining and...there was this...this truck and..." Ray couldn't get everything out all at once, he was too shocked. "And...I-I...I guess the guy was drunk and..." He made motions with his hands as if to convey the crash in a visual way, maybe because he found that he couldn't talk as he watched the other paramedics put Lily on a stretcher and hoist her into the back of them ambulance. "Is she gonna be alright? He started to walk towards the ambulance but the woman he was talking to stopped him. "No...please...You gotta let me go with her! Please." Ray bit down on his lip and tried to force the wetness stinging his eyes back. "Please..." he begged the woman

Deborah, the name of the paramedic he was talking to, shook her head. She couldn't tell him no, not with the look he had in his eyes. She swore that look was a look of love. She just couldn't deny his request, "Alright...but you probably won't get to see her after that until tomorrow. Family visiting only by now."

"Alright.." Ray said, not really hearing anything after the fact that he could ride there with her. The two headed over and hopped into the back of the ambulance and the doors were closed.

~*~

****

"This made me wonder about a theoretical situation. Let's say 

someone you had fallen in love with had some kind of accident, where they lost 

all of their memories. They look and act the same as before, so they are essentially

the same person. The catch is that they have

no memory whatsoever of having been with you, their past life,

their family, or their childhood...so it's like you've become a strange to them,

and them a stranger to you. In fact, all those

memories of your past with them might as well be forgotten,

because to them, that past never existed at all, right?"

-Francefong ~ www.roninlounge.com

The hospital was only about seven minutes away from where the crash had taken place. They took Lily off to the ER and Ray was left in the waiting hall. This wasn't something he wanted to do. Waiting wasn't really something he was good at, especially not when his best friend was in the Emergency Room. Someone tapped him on the shoulder and he jumped out of his skin. "Sorry, sir. I was just wondering if you could alert the girl's family about what happened...and maybe give us her name."

"L-Lily...Lily Randall." He said to the woman, then to himself he whispered, "Oh God....Mr. and Mrs. Randall..." He shook his head as the woman ran off and he pulled his cell phone out, dialing Lily's home phone number.

"Hello?" It was Mrs. Randall who answered.

"Ah...Mrs. Randall...c-can I...can I talk to Mr. Randall?"

"Uh...sure, Ray. Let me get him." She sounded confused and a little worried

"Hello?" came the confused voice of Lily's father.

"Uah...Mr. Randall...I need to tell you...Lily and I, we...we..."

"What is it, son? Did you get engaged or somethin'?" The man joked.

"No...we were in a accident and...well, sir, L-Lily's...she's in the...ER.." 

"Oh my God...where are you?"

"Uh..it's a hospital in Ontario, that's...that's really all I know."

"There's only one hospital near where you two were. Emily and I will be there soon."

"Alright..." Ray hung up with the Randall's and called his own parents, informing them it may be awhile before he got home and why. His mother had said they would call the McGrath and Strong families and tell them what happened. Soon after, someone, yet another woman, came to him. 

"Sir..."

Ray's head snapped up, seeing that she was talking to him, "Y-Yeah..."

"I have information on Lily Randall."

"Yeah...what is it? Is she ok? Is she gonna be ok? Please...tell me she's gonna be ok."

"Calm down...breathe." She paused, "Ok...now, listen to me. She obviously hit her head and we think she may be in a coma."

"What?" Ray asked, standing up immediately.

"Hold on. It's only an assumption, we can't really be sure. Now, she may not be in a coma. Even though she's probably not, she may have slight memory loss. She has a few broken ribs and...well...obviously, a concussion is a given."

"B-but...she'll...she'll regain that memory...right?"

"She may, and she may not, you never can tell for sure."

"But sh-she-she's gonna be ok, though...right...I-I-I mean..." he stopped and covered his eyes and sat back down. He felt that stinging wet sensation in his eyes again. He let his hand down and looked at the woman, "C-Can I...Can I see her?"

"Are you family, sir?"

He shook his head, "No..."

"Then, I'm sorry, but...no. Non-family members can only visit patients in certain hours or if permitted by the family."

"Trust me, her family will want me to see her."

"I'm sorry sir, but I can't permit you to see her unless I have her legal guardian's permission."

"Look...we live in Roscoe...place may as well be fictional it's so small, Lily...Lily's parents as well as my own are on their way here, it's at least a three hours for them to get here. I know that her parents will be calling...wanting to know what's going on..."

"And you can tell them what I've told you."

"No...please."

"I can only tell you what happened."

"No! I don't want to know from you! I want to see it with my own eyes!"

"I'm sorry, but I can't allow you to see her." 

"No..really, please. You don't understand...She's my best friend! We've known each other since we were three! You've _got_ to let me see her! Lily would want it! Her parents would want it! Please..." He knew that any second now the tears were going to spill from his eyes.

"I can't." With that, her beeper went off. She glanced at it, "I'm sorry." she repeated, turning and walking down the hallway.

When the woman left, rather than sitting back down where he had been, Ray retreated to the darkest corner of the waiting room. He had his knees drawn up to his chest, his arms on his knees, his right hand bracing his eye. This couldn't be happening. There was no way this was happening. "No, you have to let me see her. No, you don't understand...I have to see her, she's my best friend! I have to know how she's doing! No! I don't want to know from you! I want to see it with my own eyes!" He muttered. Now he knew what he'd been dreaming about earlier on the way to the concert. It wasn't thins exactly, but it had involved Lily in the hospital and his saying those things. This wasn't fair. All they would do was tell him what was going on. They wouldn't even let him see her. He couldn't hold them back any more. He let the tears flow. Its not like he was crying for no reason. Lily Randall, his best friend since he was three, and love of his life for the past three years, even if she didn't know it, was in the hospital with a concussion, broken ribs, possible memory loss and she may even be in a coma. He figured this was reason enough to let the tears that he'd been holding back since the crash had happened be shed. 

Someone that was there in the waiting room, just a chair from where Ray's corner was, moved over to the chair next to him. She tapped him on the shoulder. Ray jumped nearly ten miles in the air and looked up. He took a shaky breath in and released it. "S-sorry...didn't mean to frighten you." She had a very heavy British accent. "I just wanted to talk."

"I-I'm not really...Not really in the mood to...talk..." Ray said, brushing the tears away. 

She smiled a small smile, "Are you sure? I'll listen...and trust me, I'm a loner, there's no one for me to tell. Not that I would if I had tons of friends."

Ray looked up at the raven-haired girl. She wasn't too bad on the eyes but Ray didn't even notice that right now. He nodded and stood up. The girl took her previous chair and let him sit in the one she had just been in. "Now...what's going on?"

"L-Lily...We...We were on our way back home from a concert...we weren't doing anything wrong...just listening to music...Really, that's all. Then...some drunk guy in a really huge truck came tearing down the road...we...we were only in a Neon and...well...the two vehicles collided, head on, and then the car spun around and...and hit the side of the bridge. I told her to let me drive, but no...No she was too stubborn. You have no idea what I would do if I could go back in time and somehow make myself take the impact."

The British girl was turned towards him, sideways in the char, "I know things seem really hard but...take it from a eighteen year old girl who's lost more loved ones in her life than is healthy: Things will get better. There's always a bright side to every situation. And you've also got to admit...at least things weren't worse."

Ray turned sideways in the seat, just like she was. He took hold of her wrists, "Please...don't say that...I don't want things to get worse...the next thing that happens...it better be a good something. I don't need anything else to go wrong today."

The girl had a shocked look on her face when he had taken her wrists. "I'm sorry...but like I said, things will only get better." She smiled reassuringly.

The next thing either of the two teenagers knew, a couple came rushing into the hospital. The British girl stared behind Ray's shoulder and Ray had let go of her wrists and turned his head to see who was coming in. It was Lily's parents. "Ray! How's my baby? How's my baby girl?" Emily Randall asked immediately after she spotted her daughter's friend.

"All I know is..." And he went on to explain what the nurse had told him.

"Have you seen her?" Mr. Randall asked.

He shook his head, "No...She said...non family members couldn't see patients unless the legal guardians or patient themselves asked for it and...I tried to explain that you would want me to see her, tell you how she looked and whatnot but..." He shook his head, "She pressed with the request thing again."

"Well, I'm in the need of seeing my seventeen year old daughter now and I demand that Raymond Brennon is allowed the see her as well." Emily was reacting very differently than Ray had thought she would. The elder woman walked up to the desk and spoke with the man sitting behind it, explaining that she was Lily Randall's mother and she, as well as her husband wished to see her. 

"All right.."

"Oh and Ray, that's that young man over there..." She said glancing and pointing towards the black haired boy. "He's going to come with us...He's a very close friend of Lily's."

"All right ma'am...hold on." He went over to a phone and paged someone. "She'll be here very soon."

Emily blinked. "Right." He couldn't mean Lily, he must have meant the nurse. Emily walked back over to where her husband was.

"Are...are my parents coming?" Ray asked. 

"Yes. They weren't far behind us, they should be here any minute." Lily's father answered.

As if on cue, Marie and James Brennon walked through the door. "Ray! Honey, are you alright?" Marie asked when she saw him. She walked over and held him by the shoulders. When Ray winced, Marie flipped, "On the phone you told me you were ok!"

"Mom..." She didn't seem to hear him, "Mom.…" Still, she didn't seem to hear him, "MOM!" This caught her attention. "I'm fine...I have some cuts and bruises but otherwise I'm fine..." He then proceeded to mutter, "Should have let me drive...she should have let me drive..."  


"Honey, this is _not_ your fault..."

"She should have let me drive. I told her....She should have...I wasn't sure why I insisted but now I know...Now I remember and know what I was dreaming about earlier...This _is_ my fault...it's my fault.."

"Ray, honey..." Emily Randall started, placing a hand on his shoulder, "This is _not_ your fault. Its that...stupid..._stupid_ drunk man's fault. You had _nothing_ to do with this."

"Yes I did...I didn't insist on it enough...she drove and _she_ took the impact. I should have insisted more..._I_ should have been driving..._I_...I should have taken the impact..." It was quite obvious that Ray was freaking out and going through a guilt trip as the two sets of parents tried to calm him down.

"Maybe...I can help?" The British girl sitting in the chair suggested.

The four adults turned to look at her, "Who are you?" both women said.

"My name is Trish...Trish Robinson. Anyway, I was talking to him before you guys came in. I thought he was freaking out before but...I can see that it's even worse now. I was just thinking that maybe I could help a little..." 

Marie looked suspiciously at her for a moment but shrugged, deciding that, "Its not like any of us are helping right now..."

Trish smiled and led Ray back to the chair he'd been sitting at before. The two teenagers sat in the same way they had before, sideways facing each other. Trish, out of a hopeful kind and calming gesture, took one of his hands in hers. "Look...Ray, right?" When she glanced at the four adults and they all nodded, she continued, "Ray, I want you to think about this. Do you honestly think that all of this is your fault? Or are you just trying to justify it all in your mind?" She paused, seeing if he would answer. Noticing he wouldn't, she went on, "Ok...now, you remember what I said earlier?" He shook his head, he wasn't remembering too much right now other than what the blonde girl had looked like when he'd called for the ambulance. "I told you to take it from an eighteen year old that had more deaths in her life than was healthy. I said that you had to look at the bright side of things, even though it seems that there is no...bright side. And I also mentioned that things could have been worse and that you should be glad that they weren't...Do you remember that?" He nodded slowly. "Ok...now...think about that...and answer me this: Are you just trying to justify things in your mind or do you really, truthfully, honestly think that everything that happened tonight is your fault?"

Ray swallowed as he thought about what she was saying. Was he just trying to make things right in his mind for his own self? Or...did he actually think that he was at fault for it all? Lily's mom had a point; it was the drunk guy's fault but was it his own fault as well? What if Lily was in a coma? What if she did suffer from that slight memory loss that the woman had told him might be possible? What if...What if..._What...If..._ Ray looked up at Trish and just stared at her. Into her eyes. He didn't know...He wasn't sure if he could answer her question. Not tonight. Probably not tomorrow or even next week. Maybe in a month or two he could but not tonight. "I...I don't...know..." He took in a shaky breath.

She put a hand on his shoulder lightly, "It's ok...I know what this is like..."

"How? How do you what I'm going through?"

She was whispering now, "I can tell that you love her...not just as a friend, as something more. Part of the reason you're freaking out as much as you are is because you think that you may not be able to tell her that you love her. If she's in a coma...you can but...would it do any good? Sure, she could hear you but, she couldn't respond. You wouldn't know what she felt., how she would react. If she has any of that memory loss, she may not know who you are. You'd have to wait...wait until she really knew who you were before you could tell her. It wouldn't matter if you told her if she didn't know you, would it? No...No matter what today's ordeal is just a no-win situation." She paused for a moment, looking straight into his eyes, "Am I right or am I some crazy eighteen year old nutter?"

Ray closed his eyes for a moment, tears threatening to fall again. When he opened his eyes he answered her in a whisper that was barely audible, even to Trish. "No...your not some crazy...eighteen year old nutter...your right...I'm actually starting to think about believing in mind readers..." He tried to joke, managing a very small smirk.

Trish smiled a small one as she heard him joke and saw him smirking. She knew Ray even though he didn't know her, and she had a feeling that he was slowly coming back to be himself. To be the Ray that the four adults and the young blonde girl whom she would never meet or get to know all knew. "Maybe I should think about believing in mind readers as well...if I'm thought to be one." 

"Uhah...T-thanks...Trish."

"Anytime..." She smiled and looked at the adults. They all wore purely shocked looks on their faces. 

"How did you...how did you do that?" Marie Brennon asked, "That was...you practically got into his mind..."

"I'm no mind reader, or I would have known who you all were the moment you came in. You just have to know how to phrase things."

"But...you don't even know him...how did you know how to phrase things?"

She shrugged, "I just have a way with certain people."

Ray tapped her and she turned to him as he whispered, "So...what are you here for exactly?"

"To do what I just did."

"What?"

"To do what I just did." She repeated, "To help people when they need it...especially people who are outwardly flipping out like you were just a few minutes ago."

Out of nowhere, the nurse from earlier came around the corner and over to Emily, "Are you Miss Randall's mother?"

Emily nodded, "Yes...and I permit the Brennon family to come with us."

"They," She gestured to the other two adults, "Are the Brennon family I presume?"

"And him as well," Marie said, her son standing up.

The nurse didn't seem too happy to see him again so soon, "Oh," Her tone was high and a little short, "Ok, follow me." 

"Wait...Mrs. Randall...can Trish.."

Before he finished, Emily nodded, "Yes. Trish, you deserve to meet the girl we've all been talking about."

The girl with her wild black hair and deep blue eyes smiled and shook her head, "No, ma'am I couldn't."

"Yes you could and you will, you are." With that, Emily took her by the wrist and pulled her from her chair.

Trish smiled at how enthusiastic the woman was about it all. She took her wrist back and followed them. 

As they went down hallways, around corners, and down even more halls, Ray was thinking. He was starting to think that he might not want to see Lily after all. Different things were going through his mind, scenes flashing and leaving. He saw the truck coming towards them; then the two vehicles colliding; their car spinning; he heard Lily screaming; Lily as he reached for the cell phone; Lily as she was being put on the stretcher; Lily being put in the ambulance; the ride to the hospital; arguing with the nurse; talking to the strange yet friendly British girl; his and Lily's parents coming in; talking to the British girl, Trish, again; and he finally came back to the present. He stopped dead in his tracks, he couldn't do this. There was no way he could go on. He could not go down any more halls, turn any more corners, only to enter a room and see Lily in the hospital bed. He couldn't do it, he knew he wouldn't be able to take it. It would make everything legitimate, true…_real_. He couldn't move. Not just because he didn't want to see Lily at the moment, but also for the fact that he really didn't think that his legs would allow him to make such movement.

Trish frowned. Something wasn't right. There was only the sound of six sets of footsteps when there should have been seven. Someone had stopped. It wasn't Mr. or Mrs. Randall or either of the Brennon adults, and she knew it wasn't her because, well, to be quite honest, she knew she was still walking. It had be Ray. Why had he stopped though? Was he freaking out again? She slowed to a stop and turned to see him about eight feet back, "I'll be back in a sec..." She said to the five adults and she walked back to where Ray was. "Ray..."

Ray, who had been looking at the ground, looked up at her. He licked his lips and swallowed, still not able to speak. He wasn't sure that he would have spoken even if he'd wanted to. He really couldn't have. He knew he didn't want to do this. He couldn't do this. There was no possible way this was happening. None of this could be happening. None of this could be real. This...it had to be a dream. Yeah, that was it, this was all a dream...a really bad, horrible, awful, creepy, scary, unwanted, cruel, seriously unpleasant dream, but nevertheless, it had to be a dream.

Trish took a few steps forward, "Ray..."

He shook his head slowly.

"Ray, come on..."

He shook his head again.

There was something in his eyes that Trish wasn't sure she could place. There was fear...that was for sure. Probably fear that his friend was in for a long hospital-ridden ride. After thinking about it for a few minutes, she figured it was just his immense love for her. "Ray...come on. You need to do this."

He shook his head a third time, "No..." he managed to choke out. "I can't do this...This is it...I can't do this...This is...This is as far as I'm goin..."

Trish shook her head now, "No, Ray...Your going to go see Lily."

"No...I can't..." He was backing away from her, from the two sets of parents, the nurse, and anything else that may lay ahead. "I can't. You don't understand...but I can't...I-I-Iii can't do this..." He had backed himself into a wall and slid down to a sitting position, tears falling again.

Before Trish could say anything else, a blonde guy as well as a boy with something really similar to an afro, or at least, that's what Trish thought, came barreling down the hallway, two nurses at their heels. "Sirs! You can't come this way! Only family and a permitted few are allowed!"

"Trust us, we're permitted!" The two boys shouted.

Ray frowned. Was he being delusional now? He shook his head but heard the same two phrases repeated. "What the _hell_?"

The two boys ran past Ray and Trish and, realizing they'd missed something, they doubled back. "Ray..." The blonde started.

"Travis? Robbie? What..."

"We came as soon as we heard." Robbie explained

As he crouched down next to Ray and Trish, Travis spoke again, "All my parents had managed to tell me was that Lily was here because of a car accident, after that I was gone..." 

"Yeah...but we have more important issues at hand right now." Robbie said, crouching as well, "Ray...What happened...exactly?"

Ray, as well as the other three teenagers, was standing now, "Oh, you wanna know exactly what happened? Well, I'll tell ya: Some crazy ass drunk bastard decided he could still drive. So he comes weaving around the lanes and lands in ours...Lily, the sweet girl, didn't let me drive so...she was...it rainin, there's a drunk dumbass on the road, we just happen to be the lucky two that got to meet him on the bridge. The crazy ass bastard was driving a huge truck and we were in a little Neon, truck hits us, Neon spins around and Lily..." His voice cracked, "Lily took all the impact..." He leaned against the wall again and slid back down, "I don't even know if she'll know who we are..." He paused before rattling off all the injuries he'd heard about, "Cracked ribs, broken bones, concussion, possible memory loss...possible...possible...c-coma..." He let his face drop into his hands and ran a hand through his hair, "This isn't right. This shouldn't be happening. This only happens in movies. This kind of thing doesn't happen to people like Lily...not in real life...This is my fault..." He looked up at his remaining fellow DJs, "This is all my fault...All of it...It...Its my fault...I...I can't...I can't go in there...I know we're only like...a hallway away and," He shook his head, "No! I'm not going in there."

Travis and Robbie let him go on as long as he wanted. By the end, they exchanged worried glances. They had to make him go in there. There was no other way. He would have to see her with his eyes or he would never come out of this. They knew he had to be really freaked out though. They were too but Ray...Ray was in a slightly different position. Robbie and Travis both loved Lily but only platonically. Ray on the other hand...he loved her. All of her. Ray Brennon loved Lily Randall with ever fiber of his being and both of the two seventeen year old's standing there knew it. Robbie and Travis glanced at one another once more and Robbie spoke, "Ray...if you don't go in there...you're going to be like this until she gets out. You have to go in there."

Ray looked at Robbie like he'd suddenly turned green, "No...If I go in there....I'm gonna be _worse _than I am right now and quite frankly I don't _want_ to be worse."

Travis and Robbie looked at each other for the third time and nodded. However, before either of them could make a move, Trish knelt down beside Ray, taking his hand in hers. "Ray..."

Ray had no reaction, he glanced at her then went back at looking the ground. 

"No, Ray, look at me." Trish said, tilting his head up. "Alright...now, listen. You remember all that stuff I told you earlier?" He nodded. "Ok...now..you remember that whole bright side thing?" He nodded again, "Here's the thing: This is one of those bight side, dark side things. Yes, its dark because you don't really want to see Lily like this but its also on the bright side."

"H-How? How is any of this bright?"

"She's not dead, she's not going to be in a coma, and she can heal."

"How do you--"

"I just do. Now look, if you walk down that hallway, around that corner, and you enter that room that she's in...things will get better. It will take some time but things will get better."

"Yeah but--"

"Do you realize that if she has any kind of memory loss whatsoever that you may just be the trigger that brings it all back to her?"

Ray thought about it for a moment, "I-I never...Never thought about it that way."

"Now...do you want to take those steps to walk down this hallway, go around that corner, and enter that room?"

"Not really but...I-I think I kinda have to, ya know?"

Trish smiled and stood, offering him her hand. Ray shook his head and stood as well. At that, the four teenagers walked down the hall, around the corner and entered the first room on the left. The nurse that had led them and both sets of parents were already in the room when the four teenagers arrived. Everyone had turned when they heard th door open, "Oh, Travis...Robbie...you're here." Emily started, "I thought you boys went on vacation."

"Well, we did." Robbie started.

"But we came here as soon as we found out." Travis finished.

Emily practically forced a small smile. Everyone was looking at Lily again. Ray didn't know if he could take any more of this--seeing Lily hooked up to all kinds of monitors and everything, but he knew he wouldn't leave. For two reasons he wouldn't leave, one was that Travis and Robbie were behind him and weren't going to let him leave if it killed them and the other reason was the fact of what Trish had said earlier was all flashing in his mind. _"Ray...if you don't go in there...you're going to be like this until she gets out. You have to go in there.", "I just do. Now look, if you walk down that hallway, around that corner, and you enter that room that she's in...things will get better. It will take some time but things will get better.", _and _"Do you realize that if she has any kind of memory loss whatsoever that you may just be the trigger that brings it all back to her?"_ He turned to see that Trish was gone. She had just been there and the door had never opened, she just...vanished. This was really weird. People don't just vanish into thin air--That only happened in movies. Had the British girl just been a figment of his imagination? No, couldn't have been...everyone had seen her...hadn't they? Or...was she just in his head and...everyone played along? Was he really that insane? He blinked to make sure but she wasn't there. She was gone. He shook his head and muttered, "That doesn't make any sense."

"What?" Robbie asked quietly.

"Trish...she...disappeared." He paused, "Was she just a form of my imagination?" He looked between Travis and Robbie, "You guys saw her, right? Black hair, green eyes, kinda short..."

Robbie and Travis shook their heads. 

"Then...she was?"

It was Travis who spoke, though in a whisper, he spoke, "I think that she was probably just a contour in your mind...I don't think she's real...Trish wasn't real."

"But...I-I don't get this...how could some...figure of my mind talk me through this shit?"

Maire Brennon turned around and lightly hit her son in the back of the head,. "You watch your mouth, young man."

"Just taking a stab here but, Ray, didn't you mention that your cousin..uh, Riley I think, has black hair and blue eyes?" Robbie asked.

"Yeah but--"

"Then...Trish was probably a slightly altered version of Riley." Travis concluded.

Before anyone could say anything else, there was a low whisper, not even audible. Everyone turned to Lily. She'd said something but no one had heard what. She tried again, "Ray?..." She slowly raised her arm a little and motioned for him to come over. When he was standing next to her she managed, "What happened?"

"Uah..." He wasn't sure that he wanted to relive that again but he would for Lily. "Car crash...crazy ass drunk--"

"Ray!" came Marie's scolding.

Ray cast his mother a glance but continued, "He was in a truck and..it started rainin and, ya know, the guy was already weaving around places enough as it was, rain only made it worse. We met on a bridge and...and...the car spun around and....the driver's side slammed into the side of the bridge..."

Lily looked around, "Who's that?" She pointed to someone.

"Who?" Ray asked, looking where she was pointing. It was Trish, standing there in the doorway. He blinked. This was weird. "Her name's Trish...Trish Robinson." 

"I saw her walla go...she told me that what the nurse was going on about, coma and stuff, it wasn't true...and...she said I really didn't get much...my ribs aren't cracked like they said...pretty much all I got are some cuts, bruises, and..."

"And your left wrist is fractured. They have you hooked up to all this stuff for nothing. Its pointless, all you need is for them to x-ray your wrist, get you fixed up, and get you the hell out of here." Trish finished.

All five adults mouths were open. The girl that Ray had been talking about, talking _to_ earlier was standing in the middle of the room. They'd all heard what she'd said.

"Oh, and I'm not a variation of your cousin. We just happen to look alike. Your little blonde friend over there," she pointed to Travis, "Is wrong."

"Then, who--"

"It'll hit you when it should. It will all fall together." She turned to the nurse, "Now...Mrs....whoever-you-are, why don't you go get this girl an x-ray, a cast, maybe some pain killers, and get her the hell outta here?" 

The woman nodded and did just as she was told, taking Lily off all the monitors and whatnot that she was hooked up to. As she did this, something hit Ray. Was she like...some kind of literal...angel? "Wait...Trish."

"Yeah?" 

"Are you some kind of.."

"Angel?" Travis, Robbie, Lily, and Ray all chorused.

Trish smiled, "I told you it would all fall together when it should. " With that, she headed towards the door. By the time she was outside of them, she looked back at them in the window, waved, and ducked down. They knew she was gone. Not for good or forever, just for now. After everything came down to it, everyone really _had_ to believe that Trish Robinson was some kind of angel sent by God. There was no other explanation. When Lily had come into the hospital, she had broken bones and cracked ribs but after that, it was all gone and she exited the hospital with only a fractured wrist and some pain killers. The adults were in the lead, Robbie and Travis behind them and Lily and Ray farther behind them. As they all walked towards their cars, Lily stopped Ray. "What is it, Lils?"

Lily bit her lip and though she had second thoughts, she did it anyway. She stood up on her tiptoes, balancing herself by holding on to his shoulder with her good hand and she kissed him. After a few seconds she went back down, blushing like mad.

Ray blinked. That had been unexpected. He didn't even get to the point of being able to kiss her back, not only for the unexpectedness of the kiss but also because of how quickly she'd ended it.

"I-I'm sorry, Ray...I...I've just wanted to know what it was like for a really long ti--"

Lily was cut off because Ray leaned down and kissed her. She kissed back and she almost immediately ran her hand through his hair and started playing with his hair. Ray put his arms around her, his hands resting on the small of her back. After about a full on minute of this, they separated and just looked at each other.

Travis and Robbie and stopped and watched with their friends antics. After the second, true kiss they looked at each other. "Took 'em long enough, didn't it?" Robbie asked.

"Yeah...and the thing is, is it took a 'drunk ass bastard'," Travis started, quoting Ray from earlier, "Rain, a car crash and an angel to make it all happen." The two friends exchanged glances and laughed. It really had taken them long enough.

"Ray...if I did have that amnesia they had been talking about...would you have still done...that?" She asked, referring to the kiss.

"Truthfully?" Lily nodded, "Yeah, I would, Lils. I would."

****

"So now comes the question: Could you, and 

would you, still love this person? In fact, do you even

consider someone who has no memore of the past the same person

as the one who did? Some people say that past events and memories are what 

truly make a person the unique individual they are. Do you agree with that?"

-Francefong ~ www.roninlounge.com

~*~*~*~

****

A/N - Well, I told you guys I wanted a happy ending, didn't I? And I made a nice little happy ending, didn't I? Yes, yes, I know! I said no OCs but...Trish just kinda kicked ass! lol! Plus...I dunno, does she count? I mean...she was an angel sent by God, after all. 

Ok, so she's still original and she's mine, thus making Tris Robinson an OC. Ok...so I lied for that bit but didn't you like the fic anyway? When you look at it, the way I did the quoting bits, its kinda like a song fic. As far as _what_ I quoted, I had thought about actually making Lily have that "possible" memory loss but then I thought about it and this is supposed to be a one-shot and, that would make me have to chapter the fic, ya know? Showing her slowly regaining memories and whatnot. And I didn't want to do that so I just did it this way. It actually all turned out pretty nice, don't ya think? 

Anyway, before this turns into the A/N I have up there *points to top of page* I'm just gonna say: Review and tell me what you think, please! (I really wanna know what you guys thought about Ray freaking out like he did. Did I over-do it or was Ray still pretty much in character? In _my_ opinion, he was perfectly in charcter but I still wanna know what YOU think.) *grin* Hope you enjoyed it, see you later. Don't 4get the REVIEW! LOL!


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